This invention relates to boat attachments, and in particular, to boat-mounted, collapsible tray useful as a work station for chumming, bait rigging and filleting during fishing operations.
Most boats used by sports fishermen have no facilities for cleaning fish. The after decks and gunwales of sportfishing boats are often not flat, and therefore cannot properly accommodate an ordinary tray set thereon. Even when said surfaces are flat they are seldom of the proper working height.
Heretofore, typical fish cleaning devices have several drawbacks. Most devices use rigid, deep trough structures to hold the fish which are large and bulky and take up valuable storage area when not in use. In addition, such devices cannot be used on all gunwales and hull designs. Hand rails, molding and ornament designs along the top surface of the gunwale often prevent these devices from being properly attached to the gunwale.
It is known in the prior art for fisherman to use a flat bait cutting board to support bait while it is being cut. It is preferred that the bait cutting board be placed at a convenient height to that the fisherman does not have to bend over to use it. However, as stated above, it is not always easy to find an ideal location to use a conventional bait cutting board. Also, when a conventional bait cutting board is placed in a location where unwanted parts of the bait can be conveniently swept from the bait cutting board, there is usually no way to secure the bait cutting board and it is subject to loss overboard.